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1999 Mazda Miata Named to 'Car and Driver' '10Best' Cars List

9 December 1998

1999 Mazda Miata Named to 'Car and Driver' '10Best' Cars List; New Miata Named to List for Second Straight Year

    IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 8 -- Mazda North American Operations
(MNAO) today announced that the Miata roadster has been named to "Car and
Driver"'s 1999 "10Best" cars list.  The award marks the second straight year
that the popular roadster has been named to the prestigious list.  The awards
appear in the January issue of the magazine, which goes on sale at newsstands
this week.
    Few automobiles have received as many awards in their first nine years as
the resoundingly popular Mazda Miata roadster.  In selecting the Miata as a
"10Best" award winner, the editors of "Car and Driver" stated, "In the 10
years of its life, the Miata has become a modern classic.  Its controls are so
light, so responsive and so direct that your thoughts are turned into motion
as if by magic, and you yearn to drive the Miata for the unadulterated
pleasure of it.  That it delivers such satisfaction without requiring a
fortune to own -- or to maintain -- has ensured that plenty of enthusiasts
will partake of its charms.  We are delighted to declare ourselves among
them."
    "When we developed an all-new Miata for 1999, we knew we had to be careful
not to lose the timeless styling, balanced handling and overall fun-to-drive
character that made it an automotive icon," said Richard Beattie, president
and CEO of MNAO.  "The overwhelmingly positive response we've had to the new
Miata from the media and public tells us that the changes we made created the
best Miata ever."
    The all-new 1999 Mazda Miata features a dramatically restyled body that is
more rigid than its predecessor, yet weighs nearly the same.  The new Miata
also features a more powerful 140-horsepower 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine
and a completely revised interior.
    Shortly after its introduction in 1989, Car and Driver selected the
original Miata as one of the "10Best" cars and "Automobile Magazine" named the
Miata its inaugural "Automobile of the Year."  Numerous other publications
have bestowed awards and accolades on the timeless roadster every year since.
Most recently, the editors of Consumer Digest named the Miata a "Best Buy" for
1999.
    To date, Mazda has sold nearly 500,000 Miatas around the world, of which
nearly half have been sold in the United States, making it the best-selling
two-seat, lightweight, open sports car in the world.
    The Miata also boasts the largest single marque car club in the United
States, the 30,000-member Miata Club of America.
    Mazda North American Operations is responsible for the research and
development, sales and marketing, and customer parts and service support of
Mazda vehicles in the United States.  Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., MNAO
has approximately 800 dealerships nationwide and is owned by Mazda Motor
Corporation, Hiroshima, Japan.